Which of the following arguments involve fallacy of the irregular middle term?…

Concept

In Nyāya inference, the reason (hetu) must occur in the subject (pakṣa), have supporting positive instances (sapakṣa), and be absent from negative instances (vipakṣa). Savyabhicāra, the irregular-middle fallacy, occurs when the reason lacks a stable and exclusive relation to the property to be proved (sādhya).

Its three forms are sādhāraṇa (too wide), asādhāraṇa (too narrow because it occurs only in the subject), and anupasaṃhāri (non-exclusive because the subject includes everything).

Application

1. For “Sound is a quality because it is visible,” visibility is not present in sound, so the reason is unproved (asiddha), not an irregular middle.

2. For “Sound is eternal because it is audible,” audibility is confined to sound and supplies no positive or negative comparison instance; this is asādhāraṇa.

3. For “Sound is eternal because it is produced,” being produced entails non-eternality and establishes the opposite of the claim; this is viruddha.

4. For “All things are non-eternal because they are knowable,” the subject includes all things, so no external positive or negative comparison instance remains; this is anupasaṃhāri.

Cross-check

• The subject-only and all-inclusive cases are the two irregular-middle forms present in the list.

• The unproved and contradictory reasons belong to different classes of fallacious middle terms.

Therefore, the applicable statements are “Sound is eternal because it is audible” and “All things are non-eternal because they are knowable”; the accepted value is B and D only.